KĀNE‘OHE (August 22, 2013) – The University of Hawai‘i (UH) Board of Regents today approved the appointment of Steven (“Steve”) Smith as Interim Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the UH System. Smith will be serving in place of David Lassner, who will be assuming the Interim UH Presidency effective September 1, 2013. Smith’s appointment will continue concurrently with Lassner’s interim assignment.

Lassner said, “We are incredibly fortunate to have someone with Steve’s knowledge and experience who is so able and willing to step right in. He has been involved in all our major projects and can continue to advance our agenda to support and improve education, research and administration through the innovative use of information and communication technologies.”

Smith joined UH as Associate VP and Deputy CIO in June 2011. Prior to that, he served as Chief Information Technology Officer for the 16-campus University of Alaska System. He has over 25 years of progressively responsible professional and managerial experience in information technology, including various roles in the University of Alaska Fairbanks library.

Smith said, “As a proud UH graduate, I was delighted to be able to return to Hawaii from Alaska two years ago. I’m looking forward to this opportunity to serve UH and the entire State of Hawaii.”

Smith obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Broadcasting/Film from the University of Iowa and his Master’s degree in Communications, with emphasis in telecommunications, from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

About the University of Hawai‘i System

Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and College, the University of Hawai‘i System includes 10 campuses and dozens of educational, training and research centers across the state. As the sole public system of higher education in Hawai‘i, UH offers an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs. UH enrolls more than 60,000 students from Hawai‘i, the U.S. mainland, and around the world. For more information, visit www.hawaii.edu.